Diane and Suzanne leaned against each other at the picnic table, giggling helplessly. Bill couldn't help but smirk at them. Quietly, he said, "Girls, leave the poor guy alone."
At a table to their left nearer the ice cream stand, a Japanese priest in an old style brown robe sat looking at his cup of ice cream as he held whatever book he was reading in his other hand. Intent on his reading, he had tried to eat as he read, but the cup had moved whenever he tried to get a spoon full of ice cream.
The priest frowned at his cup, He then intently watched it as he tried again. He finally got the spoon in to scoop up some ice cream. He ate this, the nudge the cup with a finger. He tapped it again to nudge it away, and the cup slid halfway across the table. With a cry, he grabbed it, which made him drop his book.
Suzanne giggled so hard, ice cream came out her nose. Seeing this, Diane burst out laughing. Soon, they were both lost in mirth.
Bill looked around, no one was paying them any attention. Except the priest. Hearing their laughing, he looked over at them and smiled. The priest retrieved his ice cream, then went back to his book. Looking at his book, he reached down for another bite. He paused as the cup moved just enough to avoid his spoon. The priest looked right at the girls.
The priest knew. Bill felt it in his gut. "Girls, stop," he said firmly.
Diane calmed her mirth down enough to say, "We're sorry daddy, but it's funny!"
Bill tried not to watch as the priest got up and walked over to him.
"Good day Sir, ladies," the priest said pleasantly with a bow.
Bill glanced back at him. "Something I can do for you?" he asked.
Offering him a pleasant smile, the priest said, "Yes, sir, there is. May I ask where you adopted these young ladies from?"
"They are not adopted. These are my girls," Bill explained.
The priest eyed his obviously Scandinavian features, then the slant-eyed faces of the girls. "That is hard to believe, Sir," the priest said with a tight smile. "Perhaps we should speak over there?" he asked, indicating an empty table.
"Perhaps you should be on your way," Bill said firmly.
"We're sorry," Diane said sheepishly. Their joy was replaced by embarrassment, realizing they had been caught.
The priest cast them a benevolent smile. "You did nothing bad, dear. You were only having some fun."
"They didn't do anything," Bill said as he stood up to face the priest. At six two, he towered over the priest. The priest didn't move or twitch an eyebrow. "You want to talk, fine. Let's go talk over there," Bill said, jerking a thumb behind him. He led the way.
Un-Intimidated by the Master Sargents' height and bulk, the priest walked beside Bill and said, "Sir, I know those girls, and I know they can't be your daughters."
"I have just the thing for you," Bill said, and grabbed the priest by the arm. He walked the priest over to a pair of MP's talking to a cute red head.
"Gentlemen!" Bill said roughly to get their attention. He shoved the priest at them. "Take this man to the stockade. Hold him there until General Clemens contacts you. The charges are sexual indecency toward minors. He asked my daughters to show him their breasts."
"I did not!" the priest yelled as he gapped at Bill.
"Let's go, pedophile," the Corporal MP said as they grabbed the priest by his arms.
"We'll take care of this guy, Sir" the Sargent MP said as he glared at the priest. "Sir, we'll need you to come file charges."
"My pleasure. He's been suspected of some espionage, but so far we've had nothing on him," Bill told them. "I'll contact General Clemens and be in right after I get my daughters home."
"Right, Sir."
Diane watched the priest get taken away. As her father came back, she asked, "Daddy, what did he do?"
"I don't think he was going to try to hurt us, Dad," Suzanne said in a subdued tone.
Bill shook his head as he sat down. "It's not about you girls, he's been suspected of espionage, but we've had nothing on him. We've been looking for an excuse to take him in."
"He knows about us. About what we can do, doesn't he?" Suzanne asked.
"He may, but that doesn't matter," Bill told her. "What does matter is that we have an excuse to take him in and find out for sure if he is a bad guy. Honey, we think he's a spy. His job is to find out our secrets, then sell them to another country."
"So, he's not really a priest?" Diane asked.
"I highly doubt it." Bill said, then smiled and added, "Hey girls! You just helped me capture a spy. I'd say that's a big win for both of you. I bet your mom will be happy about this too."
.
"I would like to call a lawyer," the brown robed priest said from the holding cell. Sitting on the metal bench, he held his arms to his sides. The punches he received hadn't done any serious damage, but each was a heart-felt bit of hatred.
The guard on the other side of the bars ignored him.
An officer appeared with a pair of guards. "Bring the prisoner," he commanded.
The priest stood up . Despite the fact he tried to cooperate, he was punched in the belly again when no one was looking, then tripped. The hands grabbing him to get him on his feet were unkind. After a painful walk to an interrogation room, he was shoved into a chair and handcuffed to a metal table.
Another officer who wore general's bars came in and sat across from him. The man eyed him with a predatory grin and asked, "So, who are you, and why are you here?"
"I am Brother Junso, I came to speak with your chaplains about.."
"Wrong!" the general barked. "Your name may be Junso, but you're not here to hob-nob with other religious men. Hidden in the back cover of that book we found on you, were plans for the improved sights for the M-1, as well as a the Apache targeting system. Who do you work for?"
"That is a lie!" Brother Junso insisted. "I was brought here on a false claim of attempting to molest young children. Now you've added spying to the lies you cast against me?"
The general shrugged and said, "We have five witnesses who say you did. How did you get your hands on those plans?"
Brother Junso shook his head sadly. "The only thing that happened was that I recognized two girls who were kidnapped seven years ago. So, to keep the fact you have them a secret, you're going to charge me with everything you can think of."
"I want to know where you got those plans from."
"I want a lawyer."
"I want the truth!" the General spat.
Brother Junso shook his head. Eyeing the general, he said, "No you don't want truth. You want to do whatever it takes to keep me from telling the truth. I know who those two girls are. If you are smart, you'll come clean and release them to their family."
"Pedophiles don't usually have a very nice time in prison," the general said in a warning tone. "I'd say you won't last a week before someone slips a shiv into your heart."
"You will do with me as you please," Brother Junso replied in a hard tone. "But there are others who you will not do so well against. I would ask you again to release those girls before many people end up dead."
"Are you threatening me?" the general asked with a touch of humor in his voice.
"I am stating fact. If I found them, their family will also. When that happens, I pray that God will have mercy on your souls."
The general glowered at him and got up. In a hard tone he said, "You are going to be held here while we collect evidence against you. For your own safety, you'll be put in solitary confinement. Use that time to think about your future, or lack of one."
.
General Clemens studied the reports before him. "A baseball player in Boston, a miracle healer in California, and a priest who knows too much here on base." Looking up at the Master Sargent in his uniform, and Captain Parkson in her house dress as they stood at attention on the other side of his desk, he said, "This is not making me feel comfortable."
"It is obvious Diane and Suzanne are being looked for, General. We dare not risk a confrontation. Even if only one of them are like our girls, there will be a nasty battle," Sarah Parkson said.
"If we keep the priest locked away, we can deny base access to those others. We should be safe here. We've got six thousand acres between us and the fences." Bill said.
Sarah glanced at him, and said, "Diane and Suzanne can sense each other a mile away. We don't know what the sensing range of a grown up is, it could be fifty miles. They could pinpoint our girls before we know they are there."
The general rubbed his forehead in thought. He finally said, "We're tracking down the locations of that priests' wives. When he doesn't show up, they will come looking for him. No matter what happens here, I was you two and those girls far away. Master Sargent, you'll be receiving orders soon. Until then, none of you leave the base or allow any outside visitors."
"Wives?" Bill asked.
"Yes, that priest is tied to the Yukaita sect in Japan. We're going to have to be very careful."
.
Siting on the living room floor, Diane scrunched her face up and whined, "But Daddy! We like it here!"
"Can't we please stay?" Suzanne asked in a whine that matched her sister's.
Sitting on the couch by her husband, Sarah said, "Now girls, you father has orders. That means we have to go. Sometimes we have to do things we are not happy with." Offering them a smile, she added, "Besides, Hawaii is a nice place. Plenty of beaches, you'll be able to swim whenever you want! And I heard you can catch really big fish there too."
"Umm, Dad, do I have orders too?" Jimmy asked.
"Sorry, son. I tried, but the general needs you here."
"I get to stay in the house by myself then?" he asked hopefully.
Sarah eyed him. "I doubt it. I think it will be the barracks for you," she said with hint of a smile.
"You'll have thirty days to party. Just make sure the house is clean and inspection ready before you go," Bill told his son.
"Well, that's something," Jimmy said with a huff.
"Can we at lest say goodbye to our friends?" Diane asked.
"We're leaving Thursday morning, bright and early," Bill announced. "How about Wednesday afternoon we have a barbecue and pool party. Invite all your friends. How would that be?"
"That would be fun!" Suzanne said brightly.
Diane nodded her agreement. "Ice cream and cake too?" she asked.
"Sure, sweetheart. But a good dinner first," Sarah said.
.
Suzanne skipped over to the pool munching on the last of her hot dog. Although this was the 'officers' recreation area, enlisted families were invited so Diane and Suzanne could spent their last day here with all their friends. Like always, when they were not in the house, her and Diane wore colorful hats.
"Hey, Suzanne!" a boy called waving as he climbed out of the pool and ran over to her. "I got a going away present for you."
"Thanks Eddie. What is it?" she asked. Eddie was one of the few of her classmates that didn't make fun of her hair color. Many kids called her 'grandma' for having a silver colored mane.
Eddie ran over to his clothes at the poolside and came back with an action figure. He presented her with a white robed figure with long gray hair and a beard that reached his belly. The figure carried a long staff and bore a serious look under his big floppy hat.
"This is Gandalf the Great. He's a really cool and powerful wizard," Eddie explained. Putting the figure in her hand, he said, "I think that someday, you'll be a great wizard like Gandalf."
Suzanne blushed. "There is no such thing as wizards," she said in a subdued tone.
"Oh, yeah there is," Eddie insisted. "I seen you do stuff when you thought no one was looking. You have silver hair like Gandalf. I want you to have this, so when you grow up, you can be a good wizard like him. That's why he wears that white robe, he uses his powers only for good."
Suzanne stared at him. "You've seen me do things?" she asked. No one was suppose to know about that except the men who played the games with them.
In a low, conspiratory tone, Eddie said, "I got it, you don't want anyone else to know. I won't tell anyone, I promise. I just know you're going to be a really great, good wizard too."
Suzanna gapped at Eddie, who was beaming her a bright smile. "Eddie..." she whispered. She didn't know how to respond. Her a wizard? She had her invisible arms. Eddie was thinking they were magical. In a way, she thought maybe he was right. Returning Eddie's smile, she said, "I'll try my best. Want to swing with me?"
"Sure!"
Suzanne ran over and put 'Gandalf' on the nearest table, then ran toward the swing set. Eddie ran with her, yelling, "Last one there is a rotten egg!" They jumped into the seats with happy squeals.
Suzanne and Eddie played on the swings a while. Eddie enlightened her on some of Gandalf's great deeds as they swung. Eddie gabbed away, Suzanne listened. As he told her about what a great warrior Gandalf was, she envisioned Gandalf standing atop an M-1 tank, deflecting shots as her and Diane did during their games. She wasn't sure about the lightning bolts or the balls of fire. Maybe those were things she might be able to do in the future.
"You can always tell a good wizard from a bad one," Eddie explained. "Good wizards have light colors, bad ones are dark. Hair and everything. That's how I know you're going to be a good wizard. You already have silver hair and a floppy hat," he said as he glanced at her pink hat.
"Gandalf always wore a floppy hat?" she asked.
"Yeah, it's some kind of wizard thing," he said.
Nodding thoughtfully, Suzanne said, "I think I know why."
"You do? Can you tell me?" Eddie asked excitedly.
Since he already knew she was a wizard and was being so nice to her, Suzanne thought it would be all right to show him. She looked around to be sure no one was paying attention to them. Getting up, she said, "Follow me."
Leading Eddie over behind a shed, Suzanne made sure they were alone. She took her hat off and said, "This is why."
Eddie's eyes glazed over as he stared at her head. "Aww wow!" he all but shouted.
"Shhh! No one is suppose to know!" Suzanne scolded.
"Sorry, but those are cool. Can I touch one?"
"OK, but don't tell anyone."
Eddie reached up slowly and felt her horns. "So that's why you wear hats all the time," he said in wonder. "Diane is always wearing hats, is she one too?'
"Yes, but you must keep this a secret," Suzanne warned.
"Oh yeah, I promise," Eddie beamed, all smiles.
"And what are you kids doing back here?" Sarah asked as she rounded the corner. Suzanne had her hat back in place in a flash. Both her and Eddie blushed deeply as they chimed, "Nothing."
"Then we can do 'nothing' out here with everyone else, right?" Sarah asked, eyeing them. "Come on, your father is bringing the cake and ice cream out."
"Yes mom," Suzanne said in a subdued tone. As they followed her mother to the table, she exchanged a grin with Eddie. She was really going to miss him.
.
In the morning, Bill drove them to the air base where they got on the C-130 loaded with the boxes containing their belongings. Going in the rear ramp, they passed the crates and their SUV tied down with cargo straps to climb metal stairs into a passenger compartment. Not ever having flown before, the girls took window seats. Diane gazed at the huge propellers as the engines wound up. They took off with both girls' faces pasted to the windows.
Watching the ground get farther and farther away, Diane asked, "Who's that?"
Below them was the main gate. Although it looked very small, the cars looking like tiny toys, Suzanne locked onto a figure standing just outside the pass building. Although she couldn't make out any details from this distance, the figure was darkly clad. She knew the figure saw them too. Not only could she sense the tiny woman below like she could her sister, but she also felt her. It had to be a bad wizard that Eddie had told her about. "She sees us," Suzanne said in a frightened tone.
"Who sees you?" Sarah asked sharply.
Suzanne turned to her mother, her eyes wide with fear. "The dark lady down on the ground at the gate. Eddie told me about them, she's a bad wizard."
"She's really strong too," Diane said.
Bill got up and went to the phone at the front of the passenger compartment. He picked it up and said, "Pilot? ... yes, Sargent Parkson here. Inform General Clemens the base has a hostile visitor at the main gate. Female, dark clothing." Turning to Suzanne, he asked, "Can you tell me anything else about her?"
"She's watching us, and she's really strong," Suzanne said. "Can we fly faster?" she asked hopefully.
"Calm down, honey, I won't let her get you," Bill said, trying to sound soothing. He then told the pilot, "No further information ... Never mind how I know, just call it in!"